Sanjiv Ahuja is the founder, chairman and CEO of Tillman Global Holdings (TGH), a digital infrastructure firm, headquartered in New York, NY, that builds and invests in best-in-class businesses. The company’s portfolio encompasses fiber networks, small cells, cell towers, tower network services, indoor DAS, and EV charging. TGH has deployed over $7 billion in capital since inception, developed over 10,000 towers, and operates in over 20 countries.^[1]

Prior to founding Tillman Global Holdings in 2014, Ahuja launched several other businesses such as Eaton Towers as one of the pioneers of independent tower companies in the African continent, Apollo Towers in Myanmar, and JC Decaux Small Cells. ^[2]

On 15 June 2016 his company, Apollo Towers Myanmar, began drawdowns on a $250 million loan from the United States Overseas Private Investment Corp. to build cell towers in Myanmar.^[3][4] The firm hopes to build 2,000 additional towers in the country; it has already worked with Telenor, an international provider of mobile connectivity, to construct 1,700 towers in Myanmar in 2014 and 2015.^[5][6]

Ahuja is widely credited for the turnaround of Orange S.A. from 2003-2007. During his tenure as CEO, Orange grew from 48 million subscribers to well over 100 million subscribers. ^[7]

Education

Ahuja has a degree in electrical engineering from Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi University (now Delhi Technological University), India, and a master's degree from Columbia University in New York.

Early career

Ahuja began his career at IBM in 1979 as a software engineer. From 1987 to 1990 he managed IBM's strategy for transaction processing, and from 1990 to 1994 he was responsible for IBM's distributed network and systems business, leading IBM into the telecommunications software market globally.

After IBM, Ahuja served as the president of Telcordia Technologies (formerly Bellcore), and led the turnaround and sale of Bellcore to SAIC. He was responsible for growing Telcordia from an RBOC-centric business to a global entity with over 40% of its sales coming from outside North America.

Ahuja has served on several public boards including Telenor S.A., Cadbury, Williams Sonoma, Network Appliance, and Vodafone Group Plc. ^[8]

In addition to his corporate involvement, Ahuja is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a board member of PeaceTech Lab, and a director of the Ahuja Family Foundation.

Orange and Lightsquared

Ahuja was the Chief Executive Officer of Orange S.A., one of the world's leading telecom operators, from March 2004 to April 2007. He also served as the company's Chief Operating Officer from April 2003 to March 2004. After stepping down as CEO of Orange S.A, Sanjiv was chairman of Orange UK until September 2008.^[9]

Under his leadership, Orange increased the number of countries in which it operated from 17 to 23, including 14 countries in Africa, and more than doubled its mobile customers from 48 million to over 100 million worldwide. Orange S.A also saw a significant and continuous improvement in revenue, market share and cash flow under his leadership. Ahujha oversaw the successful extension of the Orange brand from mobile origins to embrace France Telecom's broadband, and fixed line and IPTV services in its largest markets.

Ahuja also served as the chairman and CEO of LightSquared^[10] with the mission of developing the world's first wholesale-only nationwide 4G LTE Long Term Evolution wireless broadband communications network. He partnered with Harbinger Capital Partners CEO Philip A. Falcone to create LightSquared following Harbinger's acquisition of Sky Terra.^[11][12][13]

Tillman Global Holdings

Tillman Global Holdings' focus is on telecommunications and technology infrastructure, and has expanded to energy and environmental issues, with extensive global infrastructure ownership and operations expertise.

Companies in the TGH portfolio include: Tillman Infrastructure, Tillman Networks, Tillman Digital Cities, and Tillman FiberCo.

Tillman Infrastructure was launched in 2016 and is a rapidly growing, carrier-trusted tower company that develops, owns, and operates assets providing connectivity infrastructure to communities across the US. The company has master lease agreements with all nationwide carriers and has deployed over 2,000 towers, with another 3,000 in development. ^[14]

Tillman Networks was launched in 2019 and provides a holistic solution to network deployment at the national level. It offers a complete portfolio of services including site development, design and engineering, and implementation and maintenance of network infrastructure. TN has contracted over 2,000 sites in the U.S. and has an existing pipeline of over 1,000 sites. ^[15]

Tillman Digital Cities was launched in 2020 and is a telecom infrastructure company providing a one-stop-shop for in-building connectivity and “Network-as-a-Service” solutions. TDC works directly with constituents, including MNOs, real estate owners, and enterprise customers, to design, finance, build, and operate indoor networks and infrastructure across the U.S. for major carriers and venue owners.^[16]

Tillman FiberCo LLC was launched in 2021 and is a builder and operator of a 100% Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) network that delivers industry leading symmetrical gigabit broadband internet access and services to residential and commercial customers. It offers other point-to-point telecommunications services, such as dark fiber, ethernet, and high-capacity special access services, over its fiber network to enterprise and wholesale customers across all industries.

In 2023, Tillman Global Holdings and Tillman FiberCo announced a strategic partnership from Northleaf Capital. Funds managed by Northleaf made a $200 million initial investment in Tillman FiberCO, with the potential to invest up to $300 million more as the company scales its operations. ^[17]

References